Ah, Thanksgiving ...

... a holiday whose point I actually like: food.

Even though it's likely to be just us all weekend, with one other (host brother Simon) at most, we're (possibly unsurprisingly) going all out on the cooking. In fact, I already baked a very easy cranberry cake, and prepared the insides of a mincemeat pie.

Cranberry Cake
I don't remember where I got this recipe; I wanted to make it last Thanksgiving but Mom wouldn't let us cook at all. So I made it today.

2 tbsp butter
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c milk
2 c fresh cranberries

Cream together butter and sugar in a large bowl. (I just used a fork; didn't feel like getting out the mixer.)
Sift flour and with baking powder and salt into another bowl. (My mother always treated sifting as irrelevant and unnecessary, and I think she's right, but I have a sifter so I used it.)
Add vanilla to butter and sugar mixture.
Add flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture, alternating with milk.
Fold in cranberries.
Pour into greased loaf pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 40-45 minutes, until a knife in the middle comes out clean, as usual.

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Notes:
I feel like cranberries must be lonely without oranges in some form or another, so I wanted to give them a friend; there was an orange laying around so I chopped up some peel and threw it in, and also added some small bits of orange segment. They lend a really nice flavor to the batter, and when you get orange and cranberry in the same bite, it's wonderful.
It seems to be a theme in my life that I never grease pans enough. I cut around the edges of the cake and then tried to invert it onto the rack to cool, and it turned itself inside out. I think I didn't grease the bottom enough. I had to stuff it all back inside and then mangle the first few pieces to get it out. Let this be a lesson to you: grease your pans properly.

It smelled wonderful, and tasted, as advertised, sweet, but not too sweet. Also, yummy.

Mincemeat pie, part 1

One of my new work pals just found out that her partner of ten years loves mincemeat. Subsequently, we had an extensive conversation about mincemeat, whether we like it or not, and particularly whether it should contain actual meat and/or suet. I personally had it when I was a kid and really liked it, but had no idea that it had ever actually contained meat or suet. I decided I would make a mincemeat pie with no meat, and set about finding a recipe. This one came from Epicurious and was recommended by New Work Pal Kim.

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled and finely diced (Give this job to your boyfriend who loves to chop things, and who likes to call himself "The Human Mandoline.")
2/3 cup golden raisins
2/3 cup dark raisins
2/3 cup dried currants
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 oz shredded beef suet, or substitute 4 tbsp melted butter (this is what I did)
1/4 cup brandy
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Stir together all mincemeat ingredients. Chill in an airtight container at least 3 days.

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Notes:

Couldn't find currants. Used 1 c each of both kinds of raisins, instead.
And HELL NO suet. 4 tbsp of butter for us. "Suet is for the birds!" he says.
Our sugar was not dark brown.
Our lemon & orange were zested until it looked about like 2 tsp, and then chopped finely.
I only had 1/8 c of brandy -- turned out I drank the rest a while ago -- so I included 1/8 c Maker's Mark as well.
Nutmeg and allspice were not measured, just ground fresh (I heart Microplanes) directly into the mixture.
And who prepares enough in advance to let it sit for 3 days? Pffft. It will sit overnight and for most of the day, and will be baked in the early evening, I expect. Possibly after dinner.

I will have to wait until tomorrow to learn how the mincemeat tastes; expect further posts. It sure smells good and is full of delicious ingredients, though, so I have high hopes.

Also on our menu: garlic mashed potatoes; stuffing with mushrooms, pine nuts, and shallots; cranberry sauce; turkey with rosemary and garlic; green beans, probably also with garlic; pumpkin pie; dulce de leche ice cream (not homemade, unlike the rest of the list).